The Wildlife Photography of Joe Mac Hudspeth, Jr.

2000/01 Mississippi Duck Stamp & Print

Mallards

Mallards have one of the most extensive breeding ranges of any duck in North
America, extending across the northern one-third of the USA, and up to the Bering
Sea.

The mallard is the most common duck in the USA, with greatest abundance
between the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains. The 2001 estimate of 7.9
million breeding mallards was a 17% decrease from last years estimate
of 9.5 million, but 5% above the long-term average. Mallard populations
have benefited greatly from the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and
other grassland restoration efforts in the northern prairies of the USA,
where populations have increased 100% above the long-term average.